Worship during coronavirus

Though coronavirus continues to impact our lives, we have resumed many of our pre-Covid parish activities and approaches.

For those who have any kind of pre-existing health condition, or who want to take more time before coming back to St. Philip’s, we support your decision. Sermons will still be made available on our website. There will be absolutely no judgment on those who decide to wait to come back, and we encourage all to err on the side of caution.

Please stay home if you are or have been sick until you no longer have a fever for at least 72 hours. Any questions regarding illness, please call New River Health District COVID-19 hotline at (540) 267-8240.

While we are no longer asking worshipers to wear masks, you are welcome to wear one if you would feel more comfortable doing so.

Tithes and alms can be placed in the offering plate to the left of the baptismal font before the service begins.

Communion will be offered in both kinds (bread and wine) at the altar rail, and communicants can receive the wine either by drinking from the cup or via intinction (the priest dips the wafer in the wine and places it on your tongue). If you have been ill, please take the wine by intinction until you are fully recovered. If you would rather not receive the cup at this time, you may leave the altar rail after receiving the wafer. Here is the correct understanding of receiving Holy Communion under one kind from Bishop Chandler Jones:
- Our Lord is present fully and entirely under both forms of Bread and Wine: we receive Our Lord whole and entire and total under each separate sacred kind. Therefore, one can receive the Eucharist in the form of Bread only or Wine only and receive the whole Christ. This doctrine is called concomitance, 'with-one-ness.' We confess that in the Eucharist, after the consecration, the Body and Blood of Christ are substantially and truly present, and we believe that the entire Christ is present under each form, so that the Blood of Christ is no less present under the form of bread by concomitance than it is under the form of the wine, and the reverse.

- updated January 2022